Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Maybe home runs are important, huh?

The White Sox are 0-4 through the first four games of their six-game road trip to New York and Toronto. They've been outscored 26-8, but perhaps more notably, they've been out-homered 10-2.

Let's take a look under the hood:

Yankees 4, White Sox 2. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit solo homers for the Yankees. The Sox did not homer. The Yankees scored two more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by two runs.

Yankees 6, White Sox 1. Juan Soto hit two solo homers for the Yankees. Stanton and Jose Trevino also hit solo homers for the Yankees. The Sox did not homer. The Yankees scored four more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by five runs.

Yankees 7, White Sox 2. The Yankees got a 3-run homer from Jon Berti and a 2-run homer from Judge. The Sox got a solo shot from Corey Julks. The Yankees scored four more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by five runs.

Blue Jays 9, White Sox 3. The Blue Jays got 2-run homers from Daulton Varsho and Danny Jansen. The Sox got a solo home run from Paul DeJong. The Jays scored three more runs than the Sox with the long ball and won the game by six runs.

In every one of these losses, home runs (or lack thereof) played a significant role. We cannot be surprised by the outcome of the New York series. The Yankees (33-16) have the best record in the American League, and perhaps not coincidentally, they entered Monday leading the league in home runs with 68.

The Blue Jays ranked 14th out of the 15 AL teams entering Monday with 37 homers, but that didn't stop them from going deep twice against the Sox. 

Who ranks last in the AL? The Sox, of course. They've hit only 34 homers as a team.

It doesn't help that Luis Robert Jr. has been limited to just seven games (and two homers) by injury. But Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn are supposed to be power sources for this team. We are 48 games into the season, and Jimenez has only five homers. Vaughn has three.

DeJong is a the surprise team leader with seven homers, followed by Jimenez and Korey Lee(!) with four.

The whole problem is made worse by the Sox going 5 for 31 with runners in scoring position so far on the road trip. If you can't hit homers and you can't "move runners along," then how can you score?

Obviously, the Sox have a lot of work to do in rebuilding their team. Let's hope they remember that home runs are important.

After all, the top two teams in the AL right now in terms of record -- the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles -- happen to be the top two teams in home runs. Just sayin'.

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